Thanksgiving
by BreeZ1
Summary: Of course, Artemis wasn't expecting THIS on Thanksgiving. Especially from Sportsmaster... And the Joker.  *Spitfire  as per usual * Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

**Hey again! I know I should prooooobably finish a story before I start a new one, but since no one is telling me what they want to see on Vanished I needed _something _else to do! So I wrote this in honor of Thanksgiving! Yaaayyy!  
>Disclaimer: I DONT OWN. There.<br>****ON WITH THE STORY~**

* * *

><p><strong>November 24, 13:13 EDT<strong>

Artemis rapped her pen on the edge of her desk, with her leg bouncing. "_Two __minutes.__Just __two __minutes.__" _Ignoring her Honors World History teacher drone on about the shoguns and samurais, she doodled little arrows on her notebook. As soon as the 3:15 bell rang, signaling the end of the day, she sprinted to her locker. Twisting the lock, she threw her books into the already disastrous black hole also known as her locker.

After slamming her locker door, she walked to the courtyard of Gotham Academy. "Artemis!" She groaned as she turned to face the voice calling her. "Hi Bette." Bette Kane was a nice girl. She was her first friend at the academy, even though her perky-peppiness could be a serious pain in the arrow. "Are you busy tonight? A couple of girls and I are having a slumber party!" Artemis plastered a fake smile to her face.

"That sounds like a lot of fun Bette, but I can't make it. My mom needs me to help her with Thanksgiving dinner," she replied. Artemis was surprised that these girls weren't going to be with their own families for the holiday.

"Bummer! Maybe next time. Oh here's my ride, happy Thanksgiving Arty!" Bette climbed into the black limo and sped away. Artemis sighed.

"I didn't want to deal with those girls anyway." She began her walk home.

She turned onto her street and noticed a mugger stealing a purse from a young woman. Frowning, she dropped her backpack and wiped her hands on her shirt. "_That__'__s __the __third __one __this __week.__" _Flipping her way towards the robber she dropped kicked him and whacked him in the head with the handbag, successfully knocking him out. She then found some plastic wrap in a dumpster and wrapped him up in a ball. Handing the purse back to the woman, she instructed her to wait with the unconscious man until the police arrived.

She picked up her backpack and continued to her apartment. While walking to the front of the building she noticed one of the windows broken. Her eyes widened. "No," she whispered. Chucking her backpack to the grimy concrete, she dashed up the fire escape to the broken window. "MOM! MOM!" When she heard no reply, she ran harder, practically gliding up the fire escape to the twenty-first floor. "…Mệ?" She quietly wandered to the kitchen where her mother should be basting the turkey. "Mo- _you.__"_ Her eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing here?" The man who held a gun up to her mother's head smiled.

"What? A man can't have a nice Thanksgiving with his family?" Artemis gave a dry laugh. "Not since you haven't been around for 8 years Sportsmaster. Now I suggest you let my mom go."

"What you mean Paula? Yeah sure I'll let her go. _After,_ you give me factual information about the Justice League. Not the meaningless bullshit you've been reporting." Paula Crock glanced at her daughter. "No Artemis. You must not. I've spent too much time trying to get you back on the right track. Please, do the right thing." The blonde archer stared at her mother, weighing her options. Nodding her head she decided on an answer. "I'm not going to betray my team, _Father_. I'm not like you." Sportsmaster glared. "Wrong answer, _daughter._" He whipped Paula in the head with his gun, and pushed her wheelchair over.

Artemis widened her eyes. "MOM!" Clenching her fists, she stalked up to her father. "How could you do that to your own-." He frowned, and then slapped his daughter in face. Growling, she touched her stinging cheek. "Oh it's _so_ on." She punched him in the jaw, and then sprinted back out the broken window onto the fire escape. Ducking as he tried to punch her, she then ran up to the rooftop.

"Looks like they've been training you well in that team of yours." She grunted as he kneed her in the stomach. "You don't even know." She back flipped out of the way, as Sportsmaster swung his bat at her head. They continued throwing punches and kicks until Artemis was backed up against the shed that housed the cleaning supplies for the apartment complex, not that anyone used them.

"Okay Artemis. I'll give you one more chance to feed us information. Or, I can call your sister, who's waiting downstairs with a knife at your mother's throat." Artemis' breath hitched.

"You're bluffing." He chuckled. "You wish I was dear."

She sighed and looked at her feet. _"__M__'__gann. __I __need __back up. __Stat. __Gotham __City __slums. __Apartment __complex __on __South __Street. __Rooftop. __Come __as __fast __as __you __can, __and __bring __the __rest __of __the __team.__"_

_ "On our way Artemis."_

She nodded. "Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt my mom." Sportsmaster smirked. "I knew you were weak. We'll just have to work on that won't we?"

He whistled and a helicopter flew up from behind a bank tower. She turned to face her father, he handcuffed her, "Just to make sure _she_ isn't bluffing." He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, then climbed up the ladder.

After he sat her in the seat facing the open door, she saw her teammates run out of the ship. "_Guys!__" _She grinned. "ARTEMIS!" She heard Wally yell. However, her happiness was short lived when she saw her father point a gun at her friends.

"NO!" As he was about to pull the trigger she used he foot to push him out of the helicopter. Unfortunately, he had a grappling hook. When Miss Martian tried to fly to her, Sportsmaster threw a net onto the unaware Martian, sending her to fall back to the building. "M'GANN!" Superboy, now filled with rage, then super-jumped to get to the aircraft. Just as he was about to reach the helicopter, Sportsmaster sent a Kryptonite bullet towards the clone. Finally, Artemis telepathically told everyone to stop trying, and to make sure her mom was alright on the twenty-first floor, apartment 21 C.

Wally screamed out in his mind, "_You __want __us __to __let __this __bastard __take __you?__" _ She frowned. "_I__'__m __a __big __girl __KF, __I __can __take __care __of __myself. __Just __save __my __mom __ok?__"_ The archer silently nodded as Sportsmaster climbed the remaining steps on the ladder, and pulled a gun to Artemis' head, threatening anyone to try anything. Staring at her teammates, she wondered when she would ever see them again.

* * *

><p><strong>and thar you have it! Happy Turkey Day! Review pleeeeease!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh hey, didn't see ya there. Well this was supposed to be uploaded yesterday, but unfortunate my laptop likes being a pain in the ass and running out of battery AS I WAS SAVING. Anyways, sorry this is kinda short, but at least it's something! and give me feedback because this is kinda all I got... Tell me what YOU want to see! PM or Review with any ideas! ON TO THE STORY!**

* * *

><p><strong>November 24, 22:38 EDT<strong>

The team sat in silence after the rooftop fiasco. M'gann floated and flew towards the kitchen, with Superboy following behind her. Robin stood, muttering something about his father needing him home and left via zeta tube. Aqualad was sitting in a chair, Thinker position, obviously in thought. This left Wally. He was sprawled on the couch staring at the ceiling. He was so still, some might say he was asleep with his eyes open. But he wasn't. The speedster actually had a mantra running laps in his mind. "_Artemis. __Artemis. __Artemis. __Artemis. __Arte-__" _

"Wally?" He sat up to look at the Martian girl. Hesitating, she continued. "W-Would you like a snicker doodle? They- They just came out of the oven." She hovered and to the boy and landed in front of the couch, with a tray piled up with the cookies in her hands. She held the tray out. "No. No I don't want A FREAKIN' SNICKER DOODLE." Standing, he flipped the tray out of her hands and pushed past her. She knelt down, with tears in her eyes and body trembling, and began to clean up the broken sweets.

"UNCALLED FOR KID FLASH." He turned from the fridge to see Superboy seething behind him. "It wasn't her fault that Artemis got kidnapped! At least she tried to help, unlike you who was standing there like a MORON." Kid Flash was about to yell back, when he felt a shoulder stop him. "Fighting is not the answer. We are a _team_, who is short one member. Instead of yelling at each other like wild animals, I suggest we think of a plan to retrieve our lost friend." The redhead glanced at their leader. "I guess your right. Sorry babe. Now what's the plan?"

**November 25, 01:04 EDT**

"Ungh…. Where am I?" Artemis sat up from the icy cement to glance around. After her eyes adjusted to the dark atmosphere, she frowned. The grimy walls were coated with dirt and mud and…Is that blood? She wiped the dirt and dried blood from her head onto her pants. It seemed there was a huge gash on the side of her head where Sportsmaster slammed with his bat to knock her out. With a huge headache, she wobbled to stand. When she tried to push off the ground, she was immediately pulled back down. Her wrists and ankles were bounded together with rusty… and bloody shackles. "Great." She noticed she was in what looked like a renaissance jail cell. The hall only had a single torch to light the dark area, and had no windows. There was a single wooden bench against the opposite wall outside of the cell. "

"Where the hell does he find these places?" She heard a bellowing laugh. "Glad to see you're awake, my dear. Did you have a nice nap?" She glowered at her father. "_Nice_isn't the best choice of adjective." He smirked as he kicked a plate of bread underneath the cell door. ""I'm glad. Now I brought you this food. Eat up, or we can skip and go train." She hadn't realized how hungry she was. Her stomach yelled, no, _begged_ to be fed. However, she hadn't been away from her father for that long. Artemis Crock was no idiot. "I'm not stupid. How do I know you didn't poison the food?" He grinned. "That's the beauty of it! You don't! Now eat, or we begin your training." The archer bit her lip. He was right. She didn't know whether or not he contaminated it with some twisted concoction of pills and chemicals. Better safe than sorry. "Train."

"That's my girl! I knew were smarter than you seem. I drenched the bread in a special toxin courtesy from your Uncle Joker!" She scoffed. "He isn't my uncle. Don't call him that. Just take me to whatever torture session you have." Her father grabbed the key from the hook next to her cell. Unlocking the door, he slid it open and grabbed her from underneath her shoulder, standing her up. "Now let's get you out of this ridiculous school-girl outfit. It doesn't suit you, _Tigress._" Glaring at the ground, she didn't respond to her villain label. Sportsmaster slammed the cell door and practically dragged her up the stairs.

* * *

><p>NYAOHOHO! Cliffy huh? Remember to PM or review with any requests or ideas!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Eyyooo! Sorry this chapter is so super-duper late! I know I said this weekend, but I kinda got in trouble cuz I didn't do well on my math exam O_O Oh well, here it is now!**

* * *

><p><strong>November 25 1:13 EDT<strong>

I walked down the dim corridor, using the directions one of Sportsmaster's servants gave to me. He dressed me in the tightest, curve-hugging clothes he could, for his followers no doubt. It was black leather pants, and orange tiger-striped bikini top. The pants had a tiger tail, and I wore tiger ears along with black high-heel boots. As I approached the large wooden doors, I took a deep breath. _'__Here__goes__nothing__…' _I strained to push the slabs of mahogany forward, entering the large throne room.

It was obvious we were in some sort of abandoned castle in the middle of Europe, based on the surroundings I saw outside of my window in my room. I contemplated trying to escape by shimmying through the peep-hole of an opening, when I noticed the eyes of snipers in the forests surrounding the medieval mansion. Sighing, I continued to the red velvet walkway leading to the thrones. Of course, I was on my toes; my father had probably set this up as a training exercise. When I reached the middle of the room, I took a fighting stance. Glancing around me using my peripheral vision, I found there was no one else in the room. But that didn't stop me from being alert.

Two hours later, I was still in ready position. Finally dropping my guard, I thought the nervous servant had given me. Pfft. Who was I kidding? As soon as I let my arms fall to my side, a group of knife-wielding baddies started towards me. Smirking, I immediately knocked out the right flank of knifers with a bicycle kick. I dodged the flock of daggers aimed towards my head, and kicked the feet out of the left flank out from under them. Was my father joking? Who are these chumps? I finished K.O,-ing the rest of them successfully, and pulled my aching body back into my stance, preparing myself for any surprises. And boy did I get one.

**November 25 11:47 EDT- Aqualad's POV**

It had been only a day since Artemis had been captured. The team was a mess. M'gann only served us burned cookies now. Conner had broken at least 9 holes in the wall. Robin had locked himself in the computer room for hours on end, no sleep, trying to find any leads on Artemis. Kid Flash… Well he was falling apart. His hair was a mess, his eyes, bloodshot. I knew he hadn't slept at all based on those dark circles under his eyes. As a leader, I knew I should pull us all together, rally spirits… But I was in bad shape as well. I heard the gleeful shouts of Robin and the heavy footsteps galloping towards the kitchen. "GUYS! GUYS! SOMEONE CALL GREEN ARROW AND THE LEAGUERS, WE GOT NEWS!"

**November 25 11:47 EDT**

"Helloooooo, dearie." I glared at the psycho clown grinning in front of me. "Joker." He laughed the most maniacal laugh that only _he_could sound. "Ho ho! Still a looker aren't you? And a feisty one at that!" He took my chin in his hand. "Mister J? Can't we just get this over with? I don't wanna keep the S-man waiting…" He chuckled again.

"Patience, Harley! We wanna have fun while we get the job don't we?" He giggled and pushed me down onto a chair, where his girlfriend tied me up. The Joker then placed a camera a couple feet in front of me, and flipped the record switch. "Good evening ladies and germs, have we got a show for you…"

**November 25 11:50 EDT**

"I trust you all know our dear friend, Artemis?" The camera switched from the clown's face to mine. "Say hello to the league my lovely!" I frowned, staring at the lens, trying to keep my face blank as the bat family does. "Oh, camera-shy are we? That's quite alright. We can fix that, right Harley?" She giggled. "Of course Mister J!" She flipped over to me and slapped me across the face. I didn't make a sound. She did it once more. Silence. Again. Silence. Again, but this time with so much force she knocked the chair over to the ground. Deathly silence. Yanking the chair back up, she growled in my face. "Mister J, perhaps you should take a _stab_ at it."

He took out two daggers from his pockets, twirling them in his fingers. "Perhaps I should, Harley." Taking the daggers, he began slicing X's across her bare arms, causing me to grunt. Finally, he took one dagger and dug it into my arm. I cried out with so much pain, I wished I hadn't kept it bottled up. "There we go! Such a fine hello, don't you think my friends?" He cackled then took up the other dagger. "You want my autograph you say? Well who am I to deny my fans!"

He used the dagger to carve his signature into my left forearm. "AGGGHHHHH."

I bit my lip to keep me from screaming anymore. Both he and Harley laughed. "Now let's cut down to the chase," he spoke to the camera. "I have a proposition for you…"

**November 25 12:04 EDT Robin POV**

Harley kept slapping her. And slapping her. And slapping her. I could see the pain in her eyes, but she remained silent. I knew Artemis was strong, but I didn't know how invincible she was…Only her eyes told me that she had a smidge of vincible in her body. I looked over to Wally. His jaw was clenched, and his body was tense. He was glaring at the screen from behind the chair Green Arrow was sitting in. The redhead's hands were gripping the back of the cushion so tightly; it looked as if the bones in his fingers were going to break out of the skin. Green Arrow wasn't any better. His teeth were grinding against each other, and his hands were clenched on the keyboard. As soon as Megan burst into tears after the Joker carved his name into Artemis' arm, he blew up.

"TURN OFF THE VIDEO."

"We can't do that Arrow… We have to keep listening." Batman glared at his arch-nemesis with pure hatred. "Now let's cut down to the chase. I have a proposition for you: If you can find all of the ingredients for a new Kobra venom that her father and I are working on in the next 2 weeks, then Arty-Farty here," he gestured to the writhing body of the archer, who was swimming in a pool of her own blood. "Might just live until Christmas. I'll be giving you daily updates on her well-being." He sneered at her on the floor. "If you can't find my ingrediants… well I let you use your… _imagination_." After he said 'imagination', Harley threw a smoke bomb to the floor, while laughing maniacally with Joker.

You could still hear Artemis' screams in the background as the video feed cut off.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoop there it is! R&amp;R for virtual ChristmasHanukkah/Kwanza/Ramadan presents! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas Eve to all you Christians! And unfortunately, I don't know the eve of other holidays! So here's my Christmas gift to you:**

**December 4, 22:18 EDT- Wally's POV**

"God, where IS he?" I paced around the mission room. The two weeks were almost up to get Joker's ingredients. We had found all of them. And it wasn't easy either. We went to Bangkok,

"Kid Flash, keep calm. The Joker should be calling us anytime now." Kaldur was standing with the rest of the team in front of the computer screen. "INCOMING MESSAGE." I sprinted to the computer and clicked open. The rest of the league had entered the room just as the video popped up.

"Good evening my good, GOOD, friends. Ha-ha! Get it? GOOD friends? Mahahahahah-"

Batman cut him off. "Let's get to the point Joker." He grinned at the camera.

"Oh right of course. Have you found all of my ingredients? My dear Artemis might want you to hurry…" The camera panned to face Artemis. She was on the floor again. The blood from two weeks ago had dried on her body, and the Joker and Sportsmaster obviously hadn't let her shower. Her mouth had a dirty gag around it, along with rusty chains holding her wrists and ankles together. "Oh Arrrrttttyyyyyy!" She lifted her head, which looked like it took everything she had just to squint her eyes into the camera. She had bruises and cuts all over her body. She didn't look like the archer I knew anymore. She looked… broken. "Artemis, care to sing a little carol with me? I'll start us off…

'Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg! The Bat mobile has lost a wheel, and Arty dies today!'" Artemis' head shot up, her eyes widened.

"NO." Green Arrow stood up and slammed his fists on the keyboard. "ROBIN DO SOMETHING. TRACK HIS LOCATION, TRACK THE VIDEO FEED, ANYTHING!" Robin quickly typed something onto his keypad. "I'm trying GA. But I think if I try this, he'll be able to hack into the league computer…" The archer roared. "GODDAMMIT JOKER. TELL US WHERE TO FIND HER. I'LL DO ANYTHING."

The psycho clown cackled. "Oh you Jolly Green Archer, I'll give you our exact location! If you bring me the venom ingredients…" Artemis weakly shook her head. "Artemis disagrees Mister J. Don't you bitch?" She backhanded Artemis on the face, knocking her over. I clenched my fists. _"You're the bitch Harley."_

"Here's the deal leaguers: 12:00 tonight, that's 2 hours, you bring me all of the ingredients to the Happy Harbor Warehouses, in Warehouse 47B, and you'll get your favorite archer back. If not, then you'll just have to listen to the song once more: 'Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg! The Bat mobile, has lost a wheel, and ARTY DIES TODAY."

The video feed cut off. "So what's the plan," asked Conner.

"The plan is to go to that warehouse, save Artemis, kick the Joker's ass, and get her to a hospital. The league is gonna come with, we're gonna take the Joker, Harley, Sportsmaster, and the rest of the Shadow League to the deepest pits of Arkham, where they're never gonna see the light of day again," I stated. "M'gann get the Bioship ready. We're heading out in 10. I don't wanna keep the bastard waiting." I was about to walk to the Bioship, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Wait KF. We need to see what Aqualad thinks." Robin turned me to look at Kaldur. We seemed to have a silent conversation, until he nodded. I grinned, and continued out the door.

"This son of a bitch won't know what hit him."


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow um... No excuse! Sorry I kept you waiting so long! BUT its here now!**

**December 4, 23:58 EDT- Wally's POV**

As we unloaded the bioship ingredients, I heard M'gann sniffle. "What if the Joker keep up his end of the bargain? What happens then?"

"Oh my dear Martian! You underestimate me! I have the girl right here!" The joker appeared out of nowhere, with Artemis in his arms... Unconcious She looked utterly horrific. Her hair was matted, with dry blood and mud going from root to tip, covering her sunshine hair. I grit my teeth. "Just hand her over to us Joker, and you'll get your stupid stuff." He cackled. "Flashy do you think I'm an idiot? Hand the ingredients over and _then_ you'll get Arty here." He dropped her to the ground, her body landing with a thud. I heard Superboy growl from behind my shoulder. He was still holding the green beakers filled with the venom. Robin then stated, "There's no way you're getting this stuff without us having Artemis in our hands. Let us get Artemis, and we'll stay true to our word." Harley giggled. "In your dreams, Bat-Boy."

I sprinted forward, grabbing Artemis' body and moved it out of the way before she could be trampled from the battle going on. She didn't seem like herself at all. Her skin was much paler than I remembered, probably from the loss of blood. She also didn't smell like Artemis either... And her hair, oh her hair. it was a muddy red because of all the blood and dirt caked in it. In fact, it had no streak of blonde whatsoever. Her body was more lean than she used to be, and had lost most of her muscle strength. I laid her down at the foot of the Bio-ship, planning on going to help the team, when Sportsmaster stepped from the darkness. "I see you have taken a liking to my daughter, boy. I couldn't understand why though. She's not pretty, she's not smart, and she's weak. I mean, look at how fragile she looks." I glance at her and realize he's right. She does look fragile, as if the slightest movement would shatter her into thousands of pieces. Only, he was wrong about her beauty. She still had the softest skin, even if it's so dirty I can barely see her skin. I can swear that I do in fact see a small blonde streak, under the hefty mass of blood and dirt.

"You're wrong," I say. "She's still beautiful, smart, and she's the strongest person I know, and you can't take that from her." She started stirring and looked at me. "Kid Flash?" I smiled. "Hey beautiful." Then I punched her father square in the jaw, and continued. My fists were flying at the speed of light until I felt Aqualad and Conner restraining my arms. They had already taken the Joker and Harley down, and were being cuffed by the JL, as was Sportsmaster after they awakened him. Then there was a flash and suddenly my equilibrium was thrown off track. I could barely see everyone, and it seemed everyone had been affected by it. I saw Joker run for Artemis' body, which was next to me, pick her up, and sprinted to the edge of the building with such speed I was almost impressed. Except for the fact that he threw Artemis over the side of the building. Cackling as she screamed, I realized something.

That girl wasn't Artemis.

* * *

><p><strong>THE END! bahahahahah! But don't fear, I will be making a sequel shortly!<strong>


End file.
